Britain Is Proposing to Invite Gorbachev to London Talks

By WILLIAM E. SCHMIDT,

Published: June 7, 1991

LONDON, June 6—
British officials proposed today that the Soviet President, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, be invited to London next month to meet with the leaders of the world's seven major industrial democracies, immediately after their mid-summer economic summit.

As the host of the summit, the British Prime Minister, John Major, sent a letter to other members of the Group of Seven nations, asking for their permission to invite Mr. Gorbachev, who has been pressing to come to London to plead for more Western economic support for his domestic reform package.

But in Bonn, Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany, jumped the gun, telling a session of the German Parliament that Mr. Gorbachev would be in London to meet with Western leaders.

"I welcome the fact that Gorbachev will attend the world economic summit," Mr. Kohl said. German officials later acknowledged that an official invitation had not yet been sent to the Soviet leader, but said they expected one within the next day or two.

Mr. Kohl has been urging that Mr. Gorbachev be invited to London during the Group of Seven meeting, although he said he was not asking that the Soviet leader take part in the summit meeting itself. Not to Be Part of Summit

That was also the basis for Mr. Major's proposal today. "We will be asking Mr. Gorbachev to come immediately after the summit, and not during the summit itself," said a spokesman at 10 Downing Street. "It is not going to be the G8. It will still be the G7."

Britain will tender the official invitation on behalf of the Group of Seven, after it receives affirmative replies from the other nations.

The announcements in London and Bonn appeared to end nearly two weeks of hestitation and uncertainty about whether Mr. Gorbachev would get a chance to plead for Western help before the leaders of the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Canada and Japan, when they meet in London from July 15 to 17.

Pressure to invite Mr. Gorbachev had come mainly from the Continent, where France, Germany and Italy have made insistent public appeals that he should be invited to London at the time of the conference, although not necessarily as a participant.

European officials said it was symbolically important that the West demonstrate support for Mr. Gorbachev's attempt to bring economic and democratic reform to the Soviet Union.

The United States and Britain have been more wary, in part out of concern that Western nations will be unable to come up with the huge amount of aid Mr. Gorbachev will need to bail out the battered Soviet economy. Bush Softens Position

But President Bush softened his position in recent days, and he told Mr. Major by telephone this week that the United States would not object if Mr. Gorbachev were invited to London.

On Wednesday, in Oslo, Mr. Gorbachev repeated his plea for Western help to keep his economic reforms alive, warning that unless perestrokia surives, the world will lose its best chance yet for peace.

British officials said the logistics of the meeting between the summit participants and Mr. Gorbachev were yet to be sorted out.

In his speech, Mr. Kohl expressed reservations about just how much the West could do for Mr. Gorbachev. "We are not in a position to finance a bottomless barrel," he said, adding that Moscow "needs help to help itself."

"The rebuilding of the Soviet Union must be decided there," he said. Aid to Be Tied to Reforms

In London, British officials said there was an emerging consensus among the Group of Seven that any significant financial aid should be granted in stages and tied to the Soviet Union's progress in adopting a market economy. The assistance should also be given to the private sector and not to the Soviet Government, they added.

"I don't think anyone has the desire to put money in on a state-to-state level, with the possibile exception of Germany," said a top aide to Mr. Major.

In Copenhagen today, Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d stepped up the Bush Administration's efforts to dampen Soviet expectations about how much economic aid they might get.

In particular, Mr. Baker for the first time publicly signaled that the United States would not support any of the current suggestions for a "grand bargain," under which the West would make a large, long-term commitment of financial aid to the Soviet Union in return for firm commitments from Moscow to move to a free-market democracy.

"The Soviets," Mr. Baker told his NATO allies, "must start with self-help. If they do, we will support them. Indeed, we are developing a package of supportive measures, which we hope we can coordinate with you and others. But I don't honestly think we can catalyze Soviet reform through a big bang approach. Our effort is more likely to be a step by step process -- certainly one with a grand goal -- but ever a realistic and workable approach."

The Japanese have taken one of the toughest positions among the Group of Seven toward the Soviets' appeals for aid, arguing like many in the United States and Britain that it would unwise to consider large-scale aid before Moscow has put basic reforms into place.

"Japan wants to see reform implemented, not a promise of reform," said an official with the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. "There have been many promises in the past."

The Japanese have also been leery about the meeting with Mr. Gorbachev, although officials say they will go along with the consensus of the Group of Seven.

"We are afraid that Mr. Gorbachev will expect some kind of gift package when he comes to London, but this expectation will not be realized," the official said. "We're not shutting the door, but we're concerned about what he thinks he can get."

Japan's hard line toward the Soviet Union is a result in part of a territorial dispute over four groups of islands off the northern tip of Hokkaido, which the Soviets occupied in the waning days of World War II. Japan says the islands must be returned before it can consider boosting trade, investment or aid.

Photo: Britain has proposed that President Mikhail S. Gorbachev be invited to meet with Western leaders at the end of their mid-summer economic summit conference. Mr. Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, arrived yesterday in Stockholm from Oslo, where Mr. Gorbachev had delivered his long-delayed Nobel Peace Prize address. (Agence France-Presse)